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Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White
Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White is an arresting and moving personal story about childhood, race, and identity in the American South, rendered in stunning illustrations by the author, Lila Quintero Weaver. In 1961, when Lila was five, she and her family emigrated from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Marion, Alabama, in the heart of Alabama’s Black Belt. As educated, middle-class Latino immigrants in a region that was defined by segregation, the Quinteros occupied a privileged vantage from which to view the racially charged culture they inhabited. Weaver and her family were firsthand witnesses to key moments in the civil rights movement. But Darkroom is her personal story as well: chronicling what it was like being a Latina girl in the Jim Crow South, struggling to understand both a foreign country and the horrors of our nation’s race relations. Weaver, who was neither black nor white, observed very early on the inequalities in the American culture, with its blonde and blue-eyed feminine ideal. Throughout her life, Lila has struggled to find her place in this society and fought against the discrimination around her.
264 pages, Paperback
First published February 16, 2012
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July 19, 2016
A first book, written in the author's middle age, as a special project for completion of her BA. Sort of came out of the blue for me; a first book, a university press, not a known comics artist, a memoir about the civil rights movement told by an Argentinian-American who grew up in the South in the sixties. . . so I was skeptical, actually; or, I thought this would be earnest and somewhat naive and "unpolished." Snobbish expectations?
So I was wrong, this is a really really good book, and in the light of recent events we in the U.S. actually might remember for a long time--the killing of African American civilians by white police officers, some of the proceedings on tape, and the killing of five police officers by an African American in Dallas, last week, in July, 2016. So how strange is it that I am reading this book, a book about coming of age, now for the second time with my class on Young Adult Graphic novels.
Quintero Weaver tells the story of her childhood immigration to Marion, Alabama from Buenos Aires, Argentina in the sixties. She grew up as a "non-white" in this community, but apparently at the periphery of prejudice, at least in a personal sense. She was an outsider, but not the victim of racism, and a witness of the racism of the times, in that place, and gradually, just as film develops in her father's darkroom, her eyes learn to see, images become clearer. I like that metaphor, and her title,which calls forth the idea of recording film/images to help us "see" the sometimes difficult past. I found her story affecting and though not completely new for me--I had grown up in the north during the same period; I know where I was when I learned Martin Luther King and JFK and Bobby Kennedy were shot; I was steeped in the words of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Mandela--in terms of observations of a racist time and place, still it was a little unique, given her perspective. It's a kind of reflection about her own outsider-ness and outsider-ness in general in the US, then. A looking back on a dramatic and shameful period of history. A companion piece for any study of the time. And she could also reflect on political events in Argentina which she knew about. And now, in the US! My class interviewed her via Skype in July 2016.
Artistically, the work is impressive, more than solid, in black and white, pencil drawings, with attractive layouts, less comics than illustrated picture book in concept. I thought it was an impressive "debut". She's not a lifelong illustrator, but this is a remarkable achievement. It began with her BA thesis project at the University of Alabama and just grew from there, with a lot of hard work and nurturing. In a time in which you might wish issues of civil rights and racial strife in the U.S. were a long gone issue, we can possibly use this text to reflect on the way the world is not very much changed at all in some ways.
Personal connection: Reading the acknowledgements, Quintero Weaver credits as centrally important to the project James Hall, a friend and former colleague, who mentored the project along the way, helping establish a special exhibit of the work at UAB. Cool!
So I was wrong, this is a really really good book, and in the light of recent events we in the U.S. actually might remember for a long time--the killing of African American civilians by white police officers, some of the proceedings on tape, and the killing of five police officers by an African American in Dallas, last week, in July, 2016. So how strange is it that I am reading this book, a book about coming of age, now for the second time with my class on Young Adult Graphic novels.
Quintero Weaver tells the story of her childhood immigration to Marion, Alabama from Buenos Aires, Argentina in the sixties. She grew up as a "non-white" in this community, but apparently at the periphery of prejudice, at least in a personal sense. She was an outsider, but not the victim of racism, and a witness of the racism of the times, in that place, and gradually, just as film develops in her father's darkroom, her eyes learn to see, images become clearer. I like that metaphor, and her title,which calls forth the idea of recording film/images to help us "see" the sometimes difficult past. I found her story affecting and though not completely new for me--I had grown up in the north during the same period; I know where I was when I learned Martin Luther King and JFK and Bobby Kennedy were shot; I was steeped in the words of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Mandela--in terms of observations of a racist time and place, still it was a little unique, given her perspective. It's a kind of reflection about her own outsider-ness and outsider-ness in general in the US, then. A looking back on a dramatic and shameful period of history. A companion piece for any study of the time. And she could also reflect on political events in Argentina which she knew about. And now, in the US! My class interviewed her via Skype in July 2016.
Artistically, the work is impressive, more than solid, in black and white, pencil drawings, with attractive layouts, less comics than illustrated picture book in concept. I thought it was an impressive "debut". She's not a lifelong illustrator, but this is a remarkable achievement. It began with her BA thesis project at the University of Alabama and just grew from there, with a lot of hard work and nurturing. In a time in which you might wish issues of civil rights and racial strife in the U.S. were a long gone issue, we can possibly use this text to reflect on the way the world is not very much changed at all in some ways.
Personal connection: Reading the acknowledgements, Quintero Weaver credits as centrally important to the project James Hall, a friend and former colleague, who mentored the project along the way, helping establish a special exhibit of the work at UAB. Cool!
February 24, 2017
To give you an idea of the sort of person I am, my boss recently asked me if I wanted to participate in the committee meeting soon to pick a book for everyone on campus to read in the fall semester. As previously mentioned in another review, you can wave a book in my face and I'll follow you to the ends of the earth. Tell me I have the opportunity to be on a committee that tells students, staff, and faculty what to read excites me to no end. Tonight was our first meeting.
We haven't made any final decisions yet, but some suggestions were made. One of the librarians came armed with graphic novels which then turned into a discussion about graphic novels being "picture books", and would people be down with that, and the sad realization that not everyone on the committee even likes to read. Sigh.
This was one of the graphic novels the librarian brought, and since it was one of her suggestions I hadn't read yet, I of course asked to borrow it. You know, for research.
I read this on the bus ride home and while I waited for dinner. I was pretty enthralled.
In 1961, when the author was five years old, she came with her family to Marion, Alabama from Buenos Aires, Argentina. As Weaver grew up, she witnessed racial injustices frequently, and had to deal with the realization that while she wasn't white, she also wasn't black. She was a Latino girl in a very segregated Southern city. This is her story growing up, dealing with her experiences, understanding her world around her, and trying to understand her own identity and place in that world.
I don't know if this will have my vote for the Common Reader in the fall, but I think it's a good contender.
We haven't made any final decisions yet, but some suggestions were made. One of the librarians came armed with graphic novels which then turned into a discussion about graphic novels being "picture books", and would people be down with that, and the sad realization that not everyone on the committee even likes to read. Sigh.
This was one of the graphic novels the librarian brought, and since it was one of her suggestions I hadn't read yet, I of course asked to borrow it. You know, for research.
I read this on the bus ride home and while I waited for dinner. I was pretty enthralled.
In 1961, when the author was five years old, she came with her family to Marion, Alabama from Buenos Aires, Argentina. As Weaver grew up, she witnessed racial injustices frequently, and had to deal with the realization that while she wasn't white, she also wasn't black. She was a Latino girl in a very segregated Southern city. This is her story growing up, dealing with her experiences, understanding her world around her, and trying to understand her own identity and place in that world.
I don't know if this will have my vote for the Common Reader in the fall, but I think it's a good contender.
May 4, 2020
When I picked up this book, I was initially skeptical.
It's a paperback published by a university press, the cover design isn't awesome, and it's a graphic novel memoir about the southern civil rights movement from the perspective of someone who 1. has never published anything - much less a graphic novel - before, and 2. isn't Black.
Wow, were those first impressions offbase.
Quintero Weaver tells the story of her childhood immigration to Marion, Alabama from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She talks, directly, about what it was like to be a part of the only (apparent) non-white, non-black family in her community. She discusses the different effects emigration and immigration had on her and each of her sisters (as the family moved back and forth from Argentina to the United States, some of the siblings were born in South America, and others in North America). And then, she talks about what it was like to live a block away on the night that Jimmie Lee Jackson was killed during a peaceful voting rights march in 1965.
It's a chilling story.
But a story in context.
This is a story that has stuck with me - that I've found myself thinking about afterwards. As I read, I found myself grabbing paper and a pen to notate sections I wanted to remember.
For instance, page 66, Quintero Weaver describes how reading her older sister's collection of books enriched her personal education. In addition to depicting the impact of literacy, for me, it drew forth the particular quality of grabbing a print book off a shelf and reading it in secret. That experience is hard to duplicate in digital form.
On page 81, she says "Somehow daddy lacked the self-consciousness that usually comes with outsider status." This made me wonder if he truly lacked that self-consciousness, or if he refused it. Made me wonder if people attain that self-consciousness quality based on personality type, experience, nature, nurture, astrological sign, or what. When is being aware of your outsider status a benefit, and when is it a problem?
On page 94, I loved the way that she depicts a life of routine.
I wonder if being a newcomer to making comic books gives her a fresh face on sequential picture storytelling. Although I don't always think her drawing is particularly good, she does things in unexpected ways, and with a fantastic sense of emotional impact.
This book epitomizes why I value reading memoirs in graphic novel form. When writers incorporate pictures into their rendering of the past, so much value is added.
It's an important book to read. I'm so glad I read it this year.
It's a paperback published by a university press, the cover design isn't awesome, and it's a graphic novel memoir about the southern civil rights movement from the perspective of someone who 1. has never published anything - much less a graphic novel - before, and 2. isn't Black.
Wow, were those first impressions offbase.
Quintero Weaver tells the story of her childhood immigration to Marion, Alabama from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She talks, directly, about what it was like to be a part of the only (apparent) non-white, non-black family in her community. She discusses the different effects emigration and immigration had on her and each of her sisters (as the family moved back and forth from Argentina to the United States, some of the siblings were born in South America, and others in North America). And then, she talks about what it was like to live a block away on the night that Jimmie Lee Jackson was killed during a peaceful voting rights march in 1965.
It's a chilling story.
But a story in context.
This is a story that has stuck with me - that I've found myself thinking about afterwards. As I read, I found myself grabbing paper and a pen to notate sections I wanted to remember.
For instance, page 66, Quintero Weaver describes how reading her older sister's collection of books enriched her personal education. In addition to depicting the impact of literacy, for me, it drew forth the particular quality of grabbing a print book off a shelf and reading it in secret. That experience is hard to duplicate in digital form.
On page 81, she says "Somehow daddy lacked the self-consciousness that usually comes with outsider status." This made me wonder if he truly lacked that self-consciousness, or if he refused it. Made me wonder if people attain that self-consciousness quality based on personality type, experience, nature, nurture, astrological sign, or what. When is being aware of your outsider status a benefit, and when is it a problem?
On page 94, I loved the way that she depicts a life of routine.
I wonder if being a newcomer to making comic books gives her a fresh face on sequential picture storytelling. Although I don't always think her drawing is particularly good, she does things in unexpected ways, and with a fantastic sense of emotional impact.
This book epitomizes why I value reading memoirs in graphic novel form. When writers incorporate pictures into their rendering of the past, so much value is added.
It's an important book to read. I'm so glad I read it this year.
July 15, 2021
The author recounts her childhood as an Argentinian immigrant in Marion, Alabama, in the 1960s, hitching her story onto the Civil Rights Movement by the happenstance that her family lived a block away from the protest that resulted in the murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson by an Alabama state trooper, a catalyst for the marches from Selma to Montgomery.
There is an interesting comparison/contrast of her experience as a person of Spanish and indigenous descent in the Deep South versus that of the Black people she knew, but there is also a bit of a muddle in her narrative. While often living in the blissfully ignorant fog of being a child, she does eventually strive to be an ally in the struggle, but admits that one Black acquaintance rebuked her for overstepping. She sometimes presents what she hoped her late father did in certain situations she did not witness, but also includes a less idealized moment when he got angry at her for endangering his teaching job when rumors flew about her fraternizing with a Black male classmate. (Since she was only nine in 1965, she relies on the memories of her older siblings as well as historical sources for large portions of the book.)
There are some heavy-handed attempts to use photography and home movies as literary devices in the prologue and epilogue that didn't really work for me, but the majority of the book is pretty straightforward. With only one to five panels per page, it is also a quick read despite its thickness.
There is an interesting comparison/contrast of her experience as a person of Spanish and indigenous descent in the Deep South versus that of the Black people she knew, but there is also a bit of a muddle in her narrative. While often living in the blissfully ignorant fog of being a child, she does eventually strive to be an ally in the struggle, but admits that one Black acquaintance rebuked her for overstepping. She sometimes presents what she hoped her late father did in certain situations she did not witness, but also includes a less idealized moment when he got angry at her for endangering his teaching job when rumors flew about her fraternizing with a Black male classmate. (Since she was only nine in 1965, she relies on the memories of her older siblings as well as historical sources for large portions of the book.)
There are some heavy-handed attempts to use photography and home movies as literary devices in the prologue and epilogue that didn't really work for me, but the majority of the book is pretty straightforward. With only one to five panels per page, it is also a quick read despite its thickness.
July 15, 2025
Viewpoint from a rarely heard demographic
I have rarely read any graphic novels or non-fiction and read this at the suggestion of a co-worker. The subject matter is intriguing as it is a true immigrant's story from a different location than one would expect from this ethnic group.
Lila Quintero was a small child when she, along with her father, mother, two older sisters, and younger brother, emigrated from Argentina to the United States, not only to the U.S. but to the small town of Marion, the county seat of Perry County in Alabama. They arrived in 1961, just at the cusp of a sequence of years that were at the center of the civil rights movement. For each child the experience was a different journey. The oldest sister, Ginny, had been born in America from an earlier stay in the U.S. for the parents, spent formative years there and for her it seemed to be a homecoming. The second sister, Lissy, was born in the U.S. just before they moved back to Argentina and her only memories were of that country. Lila started school in Marion and knew immediately that she was different. Stares and ignorant questions ('Do you speak MEXICAN?') reached her frequently and she was often asked by a teacher to say something in Spanish. Her father had been a pastor and teacher and got jobs teaching Foreign Languages at the two local colleges in Marion. He was always restless and looking for something new to learn. He took up photography as a hobby and recorded huge segments of the life of the family.
Her life at school where English was spoken and taught was radically different from her home life where both parents spoke Spanish constantly. She knew that if her father knew more details about what she was actually being taught he would voice his disapproval of the quality of the education she was getting. She heard racist remarks every day and understood the unspoken code of behavior to not seem to be sympathetic to Negroes. While she witnessed expressions of racism every day, she raided her older sister's book and record collections, reading books like 'Black Like Me' and listening to albums by Harry Belafonte and 'Joan Baez In Concert', including a singalong of "We Shall Overcome". For a few years she lived a double life, trying to accept the southern dietary choices (daily bacon) and lying to her teacher that her parents were too sick to attend the Christmas pageant for which Lila drew and painted most of the scenery.
She learned the back story of her parents' earlier sojourn in Alabama, when her father was a pastor of a Birmingham church and was scolded for his equitable treatment of black people; he was on the receiving end of a slightly less severe flavor of racism when he was expected to live in substandard housing based on the assumption that because he was a foreigner he shouldn't mind living in such conditions.
By February of 1965 it was impossible not to be aware that civil rights activism was soon to be tested in an extreme way. Voter suppression of blacks by requiring more stringent testing than the standard tests offered to whites led to marches and protests for voter rights at the courthouse. On the evening of February 18 the state troopers unleashed billy clubs and beatings as protest conditions escalated to riot conditions in the eyes of the authorities. Richard Valeriani of NBC was seriously injured while he was reporting on the activity. Lila's father was there with his camera just as the situation was growing completely out of control. When he saw Valeriani hit in the head and bystanders being shoved he knew that he and his camera were at risk and retreated quickly. A state trooper shot a young black man named Jimmie Lee Jackson, who was trying to usher his mother and grandfather to safety inside a church. He died of his wounds a few days later. This incident sparked the Selma-to-Montgomery march of April after the state trooper was exonerated.
Over the next few years, after the schools were forced to integrate and Lila was in junior high school, she grew bold enough to be friendly with her black classmates. She witnessed her younger brother being surrounded by a group of taunting boys. She stared at the boys and told her brother to come back to the classrooms. Later she learned that he was harassed because of his 'n—lovin' sister'.
This memoir is a perfect example of a work that reaches maximum impact because it is graphic non-fiction. It is a picture book in which the words are supporting players to the pictures. And the pictures are all black ink and pencil drawings, very evocative of images from the time such as news articles, school pictures, cans of soup, scrapbooks, etc. She even includes portions of text from 'Know Alabama', the standard textbook used in the 60's to teach Alabama history, including its idyllic depiction of life on the plantations before the Civil War and the evil destruction enacted in the era of Reconstruction by northern Carpetbaggers and southern Scalawags. As with many graphic books, the illustrations could serve as storyboards for film adaptations. She actually uses the filmic device of rewinding film for flashbacks and alternative scenarios.
This memoir is powerful largely because of the impact of the illustrations as well as the fact that it depicts an immigrant experience that has been told rarely, if ever. It's a quick reading experience that I would recommend, especially to those who feel disdainful about engaging in such a trivial, childish act as reading 'comic books'. There may not be as many of these reluctant readers as there used to be (hopefully another fading prejudice) but I know you're out there. Read this one. It's good for you.
I have rarely read any graphic novels or non-fiction and read this at the suggestion of a co-worker. The subject matter is intriguing as it is a true immigrant's story from a different location than one would expect from this ethnic group.
Lila Quintero was a small child when she, along with her father, mother, two older sisters, and younger brother, emigrated from Argentina to the United States, not only to the U.S. but to the small town of Marion, the county seat of Perry County in Alabama. They arrived in 1961, just at the cusp of a sequence of years that were at the center of the civil rights movement. For each child the experience was a different journey. The oldest sister, Ginny, had been born in America from an earlier stay in the U.S. for the parents, spent formative years there and for her it seemed to be a homecoming. The second sister, Lissy, was born in the U.S. just before they moved back to Argentina and her only memories were of that country. Lila started school in Marion and knew immediately that she was different. Stares and ignorant questions ('Do you speak MEXICAN?') reached her frequently and she was often asked by a teacher to say something in Spanish. Her father had been a pastor and teacher and got jobs teaching Foreign Languages at the two local colleges in Marion. He was always restless and looking for something new to learn. He took up photography as a hobby and recorded huge segments of the life of the family.
Her life at school where English was spoken and taught was radically different from her home life where both parents spoke Spanish constantly. She knew that if her father knew more details about what she was actually being taught he would voice his disapproval of the quality of the education she was getting. She heard racist remarks every day and understood the unspoken code of behavior to not seem to be sympathetic to Negroes. While she witnessed expressions of racism every day, she raided her older sister's book and record collections, reading books like 'Black Like Me' and listening to albums by Harry Belafonte and 'Joan Baez In Concert', including a singalong of "We Shall Overcome". For a few years she lived a double life, trying to accept the southern dietary choices (daily bacon) and lying to her teacher that her parents were too sick to attend the Christmas pageant for which Lila drew and painted most of the scenery.
She learned the back story of her parents' earlier sojourn in Alabama, when her father was a pastor of a Birmingham church and was scolded for his equitable treatment of black people; he was on the receiving end of a slightly less severe flavor of racism when he was expected to live in substandard housing based on the assumption that because he was a foreigner he shouldn't mind living in such conditions.
By February of 1965 it was impossible not to be aware that civil rights activism was soon to be tested in an extreme way. Voter suppression of blacks by requiring more stringent testing than the standard tests offered to whites led to marches and protests for voter rights at the courthouse. On the evening of February 18 the state troopers unleashed billy clubs and beatings as protest conditions escalated to riot conditions in the eyes of the authorities. Richard Valeriani of NBC was seriously injured while he was reporting on the activity. Lila's father was there with his camera just as the situation was growing completely out of control. When he saw Valeriani hit in the head and bystanders being shoved he knew that he and his camera were at risk and retreated quickly. A state trooper shot a young black man named Jimmie Lee Jackson, who was trying to usher his mother and grandfather to safety inside a church. He died of his wounds a few days later. This incident sparked the Selma-to-Montgomery march of April after the state trooper was exonerated.
Over the next few years, after the schools were forced to integrate and Lila was in junior high school, she grew bold enough to be friendly with her black classmates. She witnessed her younger brother being surrounded by a group of taunting boys. She stared at the boys and told her brother to come back to the classrooms. Later she learned that he was harassed because of his 'n—lovin' sister'.
This memoir is a perfect example of a work that reaches maximum impact because it is graphic non-fiction. It is a picture book in which the words are supporting players to the pictures. And the pictures are all black ink and pencil drawings, very evocative of images from the time such as news articles, school pictures, cans of soup, scrapbooks, etc. She even includes portions of text from 'Know Alabama', the standard textbook used in the 60's to teach Alabama history, including its idyllic depiction of life on the plantations before the Civil War and the evil destruction enacted in the era of Reconstruction by northern Carpetbaggers and southern Scalawags. As with many graphic books, the illustrations could serve as storyboards for film adaptations. She actually uses the filmic device of rewinding film for flashbacks and alternative scenarios.
This memoir is powerful largely because of the impact of the illustrations as well as the fact that it depicts an immigrant experience that has been told rarely, if ever. It's a quick reading experience that I would recommend, especially to those who feel disdainful about engaging in such a trivial, childish act as reading 'comic books'. There may not be as many of these reluctant readers as there used to be (hopefully another fading prejudice) but I know you're out there. Read this one. It's good for you.
August 20, 2018
This book is INCREDIBLE. Another where I read the final sentence and burst into tears. It’s just so beautiful and so much its own thing, like a perfect bowl someone carves you out of wood and you can see every thumbprint where they held it while they made it.
February 1, 2021
I have come to love the memoir graphic novel genre. This is a civil rights story told from the perspective of an Argentinian immigrant in Alabama, not white, not black, stuck somewhere in the middle.
November 6, 2018
Lila Quintero Weaver's graphic memoir depicts her experience growing up in Alabama during segregation and the civil rights movement. This experience is made even more interesting by the fact that she emigrated from Argentina, which leaves her wondering where she fits in the black/white divide in her town. The spreads here are fascinating - not many speech bubbles and instead more historical facts and recollections of memory - all in black and white. If you're a fan of graphic memoirs (and especially graphic memoirs that grapple with history), I would recommend this.
June 8, 2024
I do not read many graphic novels but this one was assigned to me for my Multicultural Literature class, and was impressive. The author not only wrote the book, she was the illustrator as well, and the images are superbly done.
This story is the author’s memoir depicting her time as an Argentinian immigrant in the Deep South during the 1960s. It provides a unique perspective of the Civil Rights movement from someone growing up as “other” - not black and not quite white.
This story is the author’s memoir depicting her time as an Argentinian immigrant in the Deep South during the 1960s. It provides a unique perspective of the Civil Rights movement from someone growing up as “other” - not black and not quite white.
June 10, 2020
This graphic novel was great. I had to read it for my African American literature class.
“Darkroom” is an inspiring coming-of-age story by Lila Weaver, and her upbringing in Alabama as a Latino, during the 1960s. This book is quite illuminating because it is told through pictures and words. Lila’s father was a photographer, so many of her drawings mimic what her dad would have seen. The story is quite interesting because Lila is so transparent about her upbringing. She’s neither white, nor black, and in Alabama during this time, race seemed like the only thing that mattered. Lila learned what racism was and talks about her differing feelings about America in “Darkroom.” I think Lila’s perspective is unique because she grew up literally when the United States was becoming desegregated, but at the same time she didn’t grow up in it all. She was pretty much oblivious to the entire phenomenon and she didn’t face any of the effects that African Americans did.
This book is Lila as an adult reminiscing and remembering the pivotal events of America’s history that happened in her very hometown.
I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about the civil rights movement and how African Americans fought their way to freedom, and how these events affected the ordinary, American resident, such as Lila. It is also a very timely book, in light of what is going on right now.
“Darkroom” is an inspiring coming-of-age story by Lila Weaver, and her upbringing in Alabama as a Latino, during the 1960s. This book is quite illuminating because it is told through pictures and words. Lila’s father was a photographer, so many of her drawings mimic what her dad would have seen. The story is quite interesting because Lila is so transparent about her upbringing. She’s neither white, nor black, and in Alabama during this time, race seemed like the only thing that mattered. Lila learned what racism was and talks about her differing feelings about America in “Darkroom.” I think Lila’s perspective is unique because she grew up literally when the United States was becoming desegregated, but at the same time she didn’t grow up in it all. She was pretty much oblivious to the entire phenomenon and she didn’t face any of the effects that African Americans did.
This book is Lila as an adult reminiscing and remembering the pivotal events of America’s history that happened in her very hometown.
I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about the civil rights movement and how African Americans fought their way to freedom, and how these events affected the ordinary, American resident, such as Lila. It is also a very timely book, in light of what is going on right now.
July 8, 2018
I picked this up at the library today to fill in the "graphic novel" square on Seattle Public Library book bingo and WOW.
This is a beautiful, artful, and full-of-life memoir by a woman who emigrated from Argentina as a child to a small town in Alabama in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement.
She has a unique and interesting perspective on these events, with a touch of self-criticism toward her own obliviousness as a child that lends an interesting complexity to the narrative. And the art is neat as well — she's really great at rendering expressive faces.
Apparently she started the book as her senior thesis while completing her college degree in midlife — I loved learning that as well. Publishers who are skeptical of taking a chance on middle-aged first-time authors take note.
This is a beautiful, artful, and full-of-life memoir by a woman who emigrated from Argentina as a child to a small town in Alabama in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement.
She has a unique and interesting perspective on these events, with a touch of self-criticism toward her own obliviousness as a child that lends an interesting complexity to the narrative. And the art is neat as well — she's really great at rendering expressive faces.
Apparently she started the book as her senior thesis while completing her college degree in midlife — I loved learning that as well. Publishers who are skeptical of taking a chance on middle-aged first-time authors take note.
September 4, 2012
An exceptional graphic memoir. Lila Quintero was a young girl when she immigrated from Argentia to Marion, Alabama with her family in the 1960s where she witnessed segregation and racial violence. A personal story that offers wonderful insights into the immigrant experience and the Civil Rights Movement from a unique perspective.
July 23, 2012
I ran across this book and author by chance at the Arkansas Literary Festival this past April. It is a rare look at the civil rights movement: from the perspective of Latino immigrants to Alabama. Given Alabama's immigration laws today, this book is a reminder of how the past is prologue.
August 30, 2017
This week I decided on reading another graphic novel because I loved everything about the first one we read. This memoir, in particular, was suggested to me by a previous professor at UGA. I have always been interested in the civil rights movement, and this covers it beautifully. It's about a Latino girl Lila and her family living in Marion, Alabama in the year of 1961. Lila an outsider to segregation because she isn't of African American heritage, she often 'passes' as white. This graphic memoir focuses on the author's personal story of her own true experiences growing up during this time of history. In my opinion, that's what makes it worthy to be taught within the classroom setting. Her family immigrated from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She depicts segregation in the South and shows reader's the true way African Americans were treated by white people. Lila the main character witnessed some pretty intense moments. This message of "through my own eyes" is conveyed throughout the text, supported by pictures and powerful text. I think that this book should be introduced to students because it shows readers the truth of the civil rights movement.
February 23, 2020
I tend to enjoy autobiographical graphic novels when I come across one- this was no exception. From the perspective of Lila whose family moved from Argentina to Alabama during the Civil Rights movement- the perspective she provides as a Hispanic immigrant during a time when she didn't really see very many people that looked like her, where she didn't know how to classify herself since she didn't really see herself as white or black (and those were the two options given.) And also going from being totally unaware of injustice around her to slowly becoming aware of the civil rights movement and segregation that was happening all around her. A perspective I hadn't seen until now, and illustrated well!
April 14, 2017
This was such a good read; I ate it. The story of a young Argentinian girl, immigrating to the Deep South during the civil rights era, was captivating and added a new perspective on a familiar story. The perspective and context of this graphic novel made it relevant to discussions going on today. I found the artwork and different mediums and perspectives used to be "indie" and right but my alley. I am proud to have this book on my bookshelf and I hope many of my students enjoy stumbling upon it; Darkroom is a beautiful gem.
February 1, 2023
Very interesting connection of a different historical narratives and experiences.
June 6, 2022
Weaver lived in Alabama in 1965 while the voting rights marches were going on. Her family is from Argentina, so they were in an odd place racially, not being black or white. Her perspective is unique and interesting.
The drawings were insanely detailed and well done. The imagery was powerful and enhanced the story.
The drawings were insanely detailed and well done. The imagery was powerful and enhanced the story.
November 19, 2022
The recollections of a woman to a piece of the American history which she saw unfolding in front of her eyes. A beautiful format with a piece of family history of immigration, longing and belonging.
March 3, 2025
Another graphic memoir!! Loving this!
February 27, 2017
Lila Quintero Weaver’s Darkroom is an impressive debut work. A memoir in the vein of Alison Bechdel’s
Fun Home
and Howard Cruse’s
Stuck Rubber Baby
, Weaver’s mesmerizing tale is matched by her accomplished drawing and design skills. Darkroom is the story of a childhood, of a Latino immigrant family, of the struggle for justice in the Deep South. Weaver’s appealing pencil renderings perfectly capture the book’s themes of being caught in the middle, witness to (and participant in) one of the most turbulent periods in American history.
June 4, 2024
Excellent read! Perfect portrayal of intersectional traumas/racism. Illustrated and written by a college undergraduate!
September 29, 2012
So I have a vague memory of requesting this after reading a review of it before I went on vacation. When I came back and saw it waiting for me I kind of had a huh? moment. I'm actually very glad that I requested it. It is the memoir of a hispanic woman growing up in a small town in Alabama during the Civil Rights movement. At the time as the author puts it, there were no slurs for them in Alabama yet. She talks a little about feeling like she never quite fit in but a majority of the book is about what happened and how both she and her family dealt with it and sometimes to the towns reaction to the way they dealt with it.
She also talks about how her family kept their ties with family in Argentina which is something that really interests me having just visited my family in Spain for the first time in 7 years. She talks about trying to keep family life and home life separate. Immigrant children and the children of immigrants will be able to relate in addition to anyone who has ever been a race or ethnicity that people just didn't know what to do with. The back drop of the civil rights movement just makes the whole story more interesting. She flat out talks about what she did notice growing up and what she didn't, which I think about a lot now. Things that were going on that I did and did not notice but probably should have when I was growing up.
She also talks about how her family kept their ties with family in Argentina which is something that really interests me having just visited my family in Spain for the first time in 7 years. She talks about trying to keep family life and home life separate. Immigrant children and the children of immigrants will be able to relate in addition to anyone who has ever been a race or ethnicity that people just didn't know what to do with. The back drop of the civil rights movement just makes the whole story more interesting. She flat out talks about what she did notice growing up and what she didn't, which I think about a lot now. Things that were going on that I did and did not notice but probably should have when I was growing up.
September 5, 2017
As a result of my quest to purchase more historical texts for the library, as well as upstanding graphic novels, I happened upon this gem by Lila Quintero Weaver. As a self-declared hater of graphic novels, I had to gear myself up for this story, even though it's about a historical topic I love--the Civil Rights Movement. Weaver's book did not disappoint. Her illustrations are stunning, and her storytelling mirrors the innocence and honesty of a child and adolescent experiencing the civil rights movement in the Deep South, but as an Argentinian immigrant! What a unique perspective for a graphic novel that doubles as a memoir of a tumultuous time in Alabama. Weaver's ability to reflect on her experiences as a child who never quite fit in, was a poignant look at what was occurring in America in the 1950s and 1960s, but with the added lens of being an immigrant herself. Not only that, but her father's experience as a protestant pastor revealed the ugly side of Christian hypocrisy, a fact not lost on the reader.
I cannot wait to share this with students, as I know they will love this book as both a memoir and a historical text. It was a phenomenal read, and I look forward to trying another historical graphic novel!
I cannot wait to share this with students, as I know they will love this book as both a memoir and a historical text. It was a phenomenal read, and I look forward to trying another historical graphic novel!
April 26, 2021
I should give some context here: I run a book club for middle schoolers, and we read graphic novels. I discovered this book in our local library and read it for the book club. It is fabulous. I have been searching for a book with a Hispanic protagonist, and the perspective of Lila Quintero Weaver is eye opening and powerful. Additionally, our group has read al three volumes of John Lewis’s March, and this book compliments March well. The family relationship and the events of the Civil Rights era surrounding the family are as well. Additionally, Quintero Weaver’s pencil drawings are simply fabulous. They add great depth and meaning to her story. I highly recommend this book! It deserves a wider audience.
August 7, 2017
This is the first graphic novel I've ever read from beginning to end, and actually enjoyed. Everything about this book was beautifully done. I loved the illustrations, which were simple, yet stunning, and all done in black and white. The layout of the text and size of the font were easy on my eyes (which is what's kept me from reading other graphic novels), and the story was pretty remarkable. Themes of belonging, justice, and coming of age make this a great book for middle and high school students, as well as adults. I thought it was going to be a story about the civil rights movement and the Jim Crow south, but it was much more. Great book, a must read for sure!
October 8, 2016
This graphic novel is a quick read, but it's so deep and layered that I need some time to collect my thoughts.
This is the first book that I read by another Argentine American, and her depiction of growing up away from the motherland, and the feelings of going back after many years really resonated with me.
Lila's account of the events in Alabama in the 60s is chilling and moving. so applicable to these terrible times in which racism and violence are still in the news every day.
I'll write a more extensive review in the next few days.
This is the first book that I read by another Argentine American, and her depiction of growing up away from the motherland, and the feelings of going back after many years really resonated with me.
Lila's account of the events in Alabama in the 60s is chilling and moving. so applicable to these terrible times in which racism and violence are still in the news every day.
I'll write a more extensive review in the next few days.
May 31, 2019
I thought this was good but would have liked a little more focus. Frankly, I thought there was too much of the author's personal story that didn't connect or enhance the historical elements that were being documented. I would have preferred the autobiographical elements be used more sparingly. I did appreciate the focus on the events that occurred in Marion specifically as a window into the larger story of those turbulent times. The dark room/photography metaphors were good but probably could have been played up more for the full effect.
November 28, 2012
A fantastic graphic novel that explores what it meant to be an immigrant in Alabama during the time of civil rights' marches, segregation, and Klan activity. This also provides a glimpse into Argentina and its own racial divide. Beautiful illustrations. Loved this memoir for its window into American History and how it chronicles the immigrant experience.
Loved it!
Loved it!
November 23, 2014
This memoir is an awesome telling of the civil rights movement from the pov of a young Latina girl. The graphic novel format works on so many levels for youth and for adults. Marion AL never looked so real to me as it did through this book.
Can wait to see more from this intelligent and yet sensitive author!
Can wait to see more from this intelligent and yet sensitive author!
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